Device to cast off wound ribbon from a spool

ABSTRACT

A ribbon spool has two spool disk components of which one disk component has a tapered hub element declining toward the other component. In order to cast off wound ribbon from the spool, its disk components are first separated and thereafter a device on said one disk is operated to push the ribbon away from the thick end of the hub. A spool handling device is provided for effecting such segmental operations efficiently.

United States Patent Hengelhaupt et al. Jan. 23, 1973 i541 DEVICE TO CAS'I' OFF WOUND {56] References Cited RIBBON FR M A SP 0L 0 0 UNITED STATES PATENTS ..242 [75] Inventors: Hans-Georg Hengelhaupt, Nuern- 3432 02] M969 Morel m 8 X burg 8500; Friedrich Teichmann, OTHER PUBLICATIONS Feucht 8501 both of Germany [73] Assigneez Triumph werke Nuemberg, A. G. IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Disposal of Type- NuembergGermany Writer Ribbon, Caudill et al, vol. 8, No. 8, January 1966, pp. 1127, 1128, l97-l5l. [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1970 Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz PP 87,955 Attorney-Joseph R. Spalla [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT A ribbon spool has two spool disk components of Jan. [6, i970 Germany ..P 20 0 867.1 one component has a tapered hub element declining toward the other component. In order to cast off wound ribbon from the spool, its disk com- [52] 197/175 15 32 2 ponents are first separated and thereafter a device on 1 l I said one disk is operated to push the ribbon away from [51] it. Cl B41] the thick of the hub A Spool handling device is [58] held of Search "242/713, provided for effecting such segmental operations effi- 242/68.3; i97/l5l, 175

ciently.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUmza I973 3. 712,446

INVENTORS HANS-GEORG HENGELHAUPT FRIEDRICH TEICHMANN BY W4 ATTORNEY DEVICE TO CAST OFF WOUND RIBBON FROM A SPOOL The invention pertains to a spool for winding up a color coated ribbon, especially a carbon ribbon for typewriters and similar machines, which readily allows changes to new ribbons without smudging the hands.

In powerdriven typewriters and similar office machines, paper or plastic carbon ribbon is used more and more extensively in order to produce better print work but such ribbons are usable only once as compared to textile ribbons which can be passed back and forth through the machine several times.

The plastic carbon ribbon is subjected to stretching stress as it is being wound and this results in its gradual contraction on the hub. It then entails sometimes some difficulty to remove the ribbon from the hub. In order to be able to remove the tightly wound ribbon from the spool hubs, there are used spools comprising two parts which can be separated from each other and of which the hubs are contractable or are of alterable shape in order to relieve the tightness of the ribbon. Separating the spool parts requires some effort. After loosening the ribbon roll, it has'still to be removed by hand from the hub, and in doing this it is unavoidable to smudge the hands with the color matter. It has already been proposed to overcome this disadvantage by attaching exterior to the hub belonging to one spool flange, a spiral spring leaf so that a spool hub is created which in the assembled condition of the spool becomes expanded by a protuberance on the other spool disk. Separation of the disks effects the withdrawal of the protuberance by the disk which supports it, so that the spiral spring then shrinks to a smaller diameter and so that the wound ribbon is then loose.

According to another known device, there are segments within the spool hub which by levers press against an elastic spool wall and slide on a spool shaft which has a stepped diameter for expanding said spool wall. After separation of the spool flanges the levers slide onto the smaller diameter of the spool shaft, so that the pressure against the segments is relieved and the ribbon can fall off the spool. Although these known devices make the removal of the ribbon from the spool hub somewhat easier, they are difficult to handle, complex in structure, expensive to produce, and also unreliable to use.

The object of the invention is to develop a take-up spool which avoids the disadvantages mentioned hereinabove and facilitates a simplified ribbon change without smudging the hands.

The present invention is an improvement over an invention on which a patent application is co-pending by the same inventors, and wherein there are two axially separable spool components with hub portions extending toward each other, and wherein said components are separable for dropping wound-up ribbon from therebetween. However, the ribbon in the device of such co-pending applications has been found occasionally not to fall off readily from the spool hubs when the disks are being separated.

In connection with a spool which winds up used color coated ribbon, especially carbon coated ribbon in typewriters and similar machines, and which spool has tapered separable hub components, the present invention lies therein that a device is associated with the spool to push ribbon axially off a hub of a spool component. Furthermore, two cone-shaped hub components of unequal size or lengths are provided. The actual device for releasing or pushing the used ribbon off the spool hub, consists of a flat push-off ring arranged'concentrically in a flat relation on an inner face of the spool disk which bears the longer hub portion, the said ring being spring urged into said flat relation. Furthermore, a carrier plate or member for the spool disk which has the larger or longer hub portion, has a spring restorable slide supported thereon for movement in radial direction in reference to the spool disk. Said slide extends normally radially beyond the spool disk, and at the inner end is provided with a slant cam face to push said ring inwardly from its said flat relation to the disk.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings, wherein,

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of the composite spool and the cassette in a partly opened state, and

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cassette with portions thereof broken away and mainly illustrating certain partsof the ribbon throw off device.

The composite structure ribbon spool consists of two separable disks 1 and 2, the disk 1 being mounted rotatively on a bearing member 3, and the disk 2 being with play rotatively supported in a hole of a member 4 which together with said bearing member 3 forms a cassette. The spool disk -1 which includes a gear ring 5 is carried fast on a bushing 8 and together with it is rotatable on a stud 9. Also rotatable with the spool disk 1 is an annular hub part 6 of cone-shaped form and within such hub part 6 and surrounding the bushing 8, there is disposed a ring-shaped permanent magnet 10. The extending small-diameter end of the cone-shaped hub part 6 is equipped with a circular set of saw-shaped teeth 11 which normally face and mesh a corresponding set of teeth on a hub part 7 which is shorter than the hub part 6 and is part of the spool disk 2 so that normally there exists a drive connection over the hub parts 6 and 7. The shorter hub part 7 is part of the other spool disk 2 and the latter carries united with it a bushing 12 which tits and embraces loosely the bushing 8 when the spool disks 1 and 2 stand moved together, whereby-normally the two spool disks 1 and 2 are centered with respect to each other. Moreover, the bushing 12 is an anchor for the magnet 10 so that when the two spool disks are moved together they will then be held im-positively together. In view of the fact that the two hub parts 6, 7 are of unequal length, it is achieved that only the longer hub part 6 has the plastic ribbon bearing thereon tightly and the shrink force on the hub parts 6, 7 is unable to push the spool halves apart against the force of the magnet 10, as might be the case if both cone-shaped parts 6 and 7 were equally dimensioned.

The throw-off device for the used ribbon comprises two main elements, one being a dual throw-off ring 21a, 21b and the other being a push rod 22, which is slidably provided on the inside of the carrier plate 3 and is urged by a spring 28 thereon to a normal ineffective position. The rings 21a and 21b of the dual ring are connected solidly by studs 25. The dual ring 21a, 21b is biased axially of the disk 1 by compression springs 26 which are carried on said studs 25 and react against the outer side of the spool disk 1 so that the ring 21b normally bears against the inner side of the spool disk. The

inner end of the push rod 22 has an angled cam surface 23. Near such inner end the push rod 22 is guided by a stud 27 and near its outer end 24 it has guidance in a hole of the member 3. The push rod 22 is urged lengthwise outwardly from the ring part 210 by the spring 28. When the member 4 is swung relatively away from the member 3, the push rod 22 becomes operated so that the angled cam surface 23 moves under the ring part 21a, causing the ring 21a, 21b to be displaced to project the ring part 21b inwardly on the spool disk 1, said ring 21a, 21b more specifically receiving a tilting motion so that wound ribbon on the outer part of the long hub 6 is pushed sufficiently inwardly toward the smaller end to become loose enabling the ribbon to drop off freely from between the flanges 1, 2. in the shown embodiment of the invention, the carrier plate 3 is connected with the cover 4 through a hinge 29, and the spool components 1, 2 are separated by operation of handles on the members 3, 4 until the outwardly reaching end 24 of the push rod 22 is contacted by the cassette part 4 and will be displaced inwardly. This assures that the rolled up ribbon becomes loose on the hub 6 and slips freely thereoff as the cassette is opened. The ribbon slips freely off the hub 7 inasmuch as such hub is smaller than the hub 6.

With this take-up spool afforded according to the invention it is achieved that by effecting the separation of the spool disks, the used carbon ribbon can be removed always from the spool hub quickly and reliably without requiring it to be contacted by the operators hands.

The invention claimed is:

1. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon,

a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks,

' said hub forming means comprising on each spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radially diminishing manner from said disk,

means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom,

said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk,

ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof, and the hub of said one disk which carries said ribbon push-off means being axially longerthan the hub of said other disk and having a larger diameter adjacent the surface of the disk.

2. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon,

a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks,

said hub forming means including on at least said one spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radially diminishing manner from said one disk toward said other disk,

means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom,

said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk,

ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof,

said support member for said one spool disk being part of a spool handling device which includes another support member bearing rotatively said other spool disk,

pivotal means associating said support members for pivotal movement from each other to effect thereby the separations of the spool disks,

and means responsive to the pivotal movement of said support members from each other to operate said ribbon push off means.

3. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon,

a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks,

said hub forming means including on at least said one spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radi' ally diminishing manner from said one disk toward said other disk,

means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom,

said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk,

ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof,

said ribbon push-off means comprising a ring member mounted on said one disk for movement from a normal position to push wound up ribbon toward the tapered end of said one hub,

spring means to bias said ring member to its normal position on said one disk,

said push-off means comprising further on said support member an operable means to move the ring member from said normal position,

said support member for said one disk being a part of a spool handling device which includes also a support member which bears rotatively thereon said other spool disk,

hinging means associating said support members for hinging movements from each other to effect the separation of the spool disks,

and means responsive to hinging movement of said members from each other to effect operation of said operable means.

4. A ribbon spool arrangement, comprising two disks rotatably supported in coaxial spaced-apart relation to each other, hub means located between said disks for having ribbon wound thereon, said hub means comprising two hub elements each associated with one of said disks and rotatably supported in coaxial relation therewith, said hub elements each tapering axially from the associated disk, one of said hub elements being dimensionally larger than the other hub element to cause the ribbon to be more tightly wound thereon, means for separably supporting said disks and associated hub elements for movement relative to each other, said disks and associated hub elements being separably movable away from each other for removing the dimensionally smaller hub element from a woundup ribbon and enabling a wound-up ribbon to be removed from the dimensionally larger hub element, and ribbon push-off means associated with the dimensionally larger hub element for pushing the wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element.

5. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said dimensionally larger hub element is axially longer then said other hub element.

6. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said ribbon push-off means includes a member supported for movement to operate said ribbon push off means, and said member being movable in response to the movement of said hub elements from each other for operating said ribbon push-off means to push a wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element.

7. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said means comprises a cassette arrangement for rotatably supporting said disks and said hub means therein, said cassette arrangement comprising two halves pivotally connected with each half rotatably supporting one of said disks and an associated hub element, said ribbon push-off means being'carried in said cassette half rotatably supporting said dimensionally larger hub element, said ribbon push-off means including a member supported for movement to operate said ribbon push-off means, and said member being movable in response to pivotal movement of said cassette halves from each other for operating said ribbon pushoff means to push a wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element. 

1. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon, a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks, said hub forming means comprising on each spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radially diminishing manner from said disk, means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom, said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk, ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof, and the hub of said one disk which carries said ribbon push-off means being axially longer than the hub of said other disk and having a larger diameter adjacent the surface of the disk.
 2. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon, a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks, said hub forming means including on at least said one spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radially diminishing manner from said one disk toward said other disk, means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom, said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk, ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof, said support member for said one spool disk being part of a spool handling device which includes another support member bearing rotatively said other spool disk, pivotal means associating said support members for pivotal movement from each other to effect thereby the separations of the spool disks, and means responsive to the pivotal movement of said support members from each other to operate said ribbon push off means.
 3. In combination with a composite ribbon spool structure comprising two normally coaxially disposed spaced spool disks having a hub forming means therebetween to wind ribbon thereon, a member to support rotatively thereon one of said disks, said hub forming means including on at least said one spool disk a rigid hub which tapers axially in a radially diminishing manner from said one disk toward said other disk, means to associate separably with said one disk the other one of said disks, axially centered therewith and spaced therefrom, said other disk being separable from said one disk for removing a wound-up ribbon from said hub of said one disk, ribbon push-off means carried on said one disk for pushing the wound-up ribbon on said one hub toward the tapered end thereof, said ribbon push-off means comprising a ring member mounted on said one disk for movement from a normal position to push wound up ribbon toward the tapered end of said one hub, spring means to bias said ring member to its normal position on said one disk, said push-off means comprising further on said support member an operable means to move the ring member from said normal position, said support member for said one disk being a part of a spool handling device which includes also a support member which bears rotatively thereon said other spool disk, hinging means associating said support members for hinging movements from each other to effect the separation of the spool disks, and means responsive to hinging movement of said members from each other to effect operation of said operable means.
 4. A ribbon spool arrangement, comprising two disks rotatably supported in coaxial spaced-apart relation to each other, hub means located between said disks for having ribbon wound thereon, said hub means comprising two hub elements each associated with one of said disks and rotatably supported in coaxial relation therewith, said hub elements each tapering axially from the associated disk, one of said hub elements being dimensionally larger than the other hub element to cause the ribbon to be more tightly wound thereon, means for separably supporting said disks and associated hub elements for movement relative to each other, said disks and associated hub elements being separably movable away from each other for removing the dimensionally smaller hub element from a wound-up ribbon and enabling a wound-up ribbon to be removed from the dimensionally larger hub element, and ribbon push-off means associated with the dimensionally larger hub element for pushing the wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element.
 5. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said dimensionally larger hub element is axially longer then said other hub element.
 6. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said ribbon push-off means includes a member supported for movement to operate said ribbon push-off means, and said member being movable in response to the movement of said hub elements from each other for operating said ribbon push-off means to push a wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element.
 7. A ribbon spool arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said means comprises a cassette arrangement for rotatably supporting said disks and said hub means therein, said cassette arrangement comprising two halves pivotally connected with each half rotatably supporting one of said disks and an associated hub element, said ribbon push-off means being carried in said cassette half rotatably supporting said dimensionally larger hub element, said ribbon push-off means including a member supported for movement to operate said ribbon push-off means, and said member being movable in response to pivotal movement of said cassette halves from each other for operating said ribbon push-off means to push a wound-up ribbon toward the tapered end of the dimensionally larger hub element. 